Level of delinquency on accounts

FICO code numbers

Code numbers can differ by bureau and score version. The wording of the statement is what to match.

What puts this reason on your score

Creditors report each account every month as current or as 30, 60, 90, 120 or more days past due. This code shows when the worst of those ratings, current or historical, is deep enough to be one of your biggest drags. FICO's payment history category looks at how overdue delinquent payments are today or became in the past.

The model treats a deeper delinquency as stronger evidence of repayment risk than a short slip. The code doesn't name the account that caused it, so you have to find the deepest late in the month-by-month payment grid on that bureau's report.

What to check on your credit report

• Open the payment grid on every account and find the highest late rating, such as 60 or 90.
• Match the month and the rating against your bank records. A payment that posted on time but was reported 30 days late is an error you can dispute.
• Make sure an account you brought current isn't still reported as past due in its status line.

What you can do about it

• Bring any account that's behind today back to current first. A live delinquency keeps adding late months.
• Dispute only ratings that are wrong, with proof such as a bank statement showing the payment date.
• For an accurate late on an account that has been clean since, a goodwill letter asking the creditor to adjust it is an option. Creditors can say no.

The free drop off calculator can help with this step.

How soon a change can show

An accurate late can stay on the report for up to seven years, and its pull on the score weakens as months pass without a new one. A corrected rating shows after the creditor sends the fix or the bureau finishes its reinvestigation and updates the file.

If you are applying for a mortgage

The underwriter reads the same payment grid you do, so a 90-day late from last year can draw questions even when your middle score clears the lender's minimum. Every month you stay current between now and the application helps both the score and the file.

Guides that go deeper

• How a late payment grows from 30 to 90 daysA missed payment can be reported as 30, then 60, then 90 days late. See how lates stack, why one payment may not catch you up, and how to stop the slide.
• How a late payment affects your credit score, using FICO's own numbersFICO's own simulation shows a 30-day late can cost a 793 score far more than a 607 score. Why that happens, and what FICO weighs about each late payment.
• How to write a goodwill letter, with a sampleA goodwill letter asks a lender to drop an accurate late payment as a courtesy. No law requires it and results are mixed. How to give yours a fair shot.
• What your credit score reason codes are telling youReason codes list what held your score back the most, in order. What the common ones mean, which you can act on, and which to leave alone.